Kovalchuk did not return after taking a puck off his foot midway through the first period. The Thrashers' captain, who began the game tied for the NHL lead with nine goals, skated off the ice at the 8:43 mark of the first.

"He's going to the doctor, probably Monday morning, (to) have it scanned and X-rayed to figure out what it is," Atlanta coach John Anderson said.

Anderson added that swelling in Kovalchuk's foot is expected to be too substantial for him to see a team physician today.

San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov (20), of Kazakhstan, makes a save as he deflects the puck with Atlanta Thrashers left wing Evander Kane (9) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, at Philips Arena in Atlanta. The Sharks won 4-3. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith) less

San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov (20), of Kazakhstan, makes a save as he deflects the puck with Atlanta Thrashers left wing Evander Kane (9) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. ... more

Photo: Gregory Smith, AP

Photo: Gregory Smith, AP

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San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov (20), of Kazakhstan, makes a save as he deflects the puck with Atlanta Thrashers left wing Evander Kane (9) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009, at Philips Arena in Atlanta. The Sharks won 4-3. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith) less

San Jose Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov (20), of Kazakhstan, makes a save as he deflects the puck with Atlanta Thrashers left wing Evander Kane (9) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. ... more

Photo: Gregory Smith, AP

Marleau scores twice to keep Sharks rolling

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Marleau's eighth goal, coming on a wrister against Johan Hedberg, made it 3-0 in the first minute of the second period.

After Todd White's unassisted slap shot cut the lead to 3-1 at the 3:53 mark of the second, Marleau's ninth goal more than six minutes later on a power play put the Sharks up 4-1.

With 19:20 remaining, rookie Evander Kane scored his third goal on a wrister from the slot to cut San Jose's lead to 4-3.

Heatley made it 2-0 with a wrister on the power play 13:53 into the first. The goal was his seventh of the season.

"Very disappointing to lose the last two games," Hedberg said. "We came back from a great trip and wanted to get everything moving. It's a long season, and we need to learn from this and move on from here."

Nabokov improved to 6-3 after stopping 24 of 27 shots. Without Kovalchuk to fuel an Atlanta power play that led the NHL with a 28.6 percentage, Nabokov had less to worry about.